Trump Calls Ossoff 'Pee-wee Herman' Over Makeup at Georgia Rally; Then Admits He Wears 'Very Little' Himself

Donald Trump used a Georgia rally on Friday to ridicule Senator Jon Ossoff's appearance and alleged spending on makeup, before conceding he applies a little himself.

Speaking in Dalton on 16 October 2026, the president likened the Democratic senator to Pee-wee Herman and claimed he spent more on makeup than anyone in Senate history. Moments later, he told the crowd: 'I wear very little, and I do it myself.'

The rally was held to boost Republican challenger Mike Collins, in one of the most closely watched Senate races of the 2026 midterms, and gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson.

'I Call Him Pee-wee Herman': Trump's Personal Jabs

Trump turned to Ossoff early and personally. 'I don't think he [Ossoff] is a good-looking man,' he said at Dalton Municipal Airport in north-west Georgia. He called the senator 'your weak, arrogant, hate-filled senator' and added: 'I call him Pee-wee Herman.' Ossoff, he said, 'looks like Pee-wee.'

Pee-wee Herman was the man-child comedy character created by the actor Paul Reubens, famous for his pale complexion, red lips and grey suit. Reubens died in 2023. The jibe joins a long list of nicknames Trump has handed to opponents over the past decade.

Ossoff, 39, became the first Jewish person elected to represent Georgia in the Senate, and the chamber's youngest member, when he won the January 2021 runoff. His victory and Raphael Warnock's win in the state's other runoff that day gave Democrats control of the Senate. His is one of the Democratic-held seats on the ballot this year in states Trump carried in 2024, alongside the open seat in Michigan.

The president then moved on to cosmetics. Ossoff 'goes full bore,' Trump said. 'He's got the makeup artist.' He claimed: 'He spends more money on makeup than any man or woman in the history of the Senate,' adding, 'The women aren't happy about it.'

Trump offered no figures to support the claim. In July, the conservative Washington Free Beacon reported that Ossoff's campaign had paid a makeup artist nearly £2,250 ($3,000) since February, and later reporting has put the running total higher.

The payments are a routine subject of campaign-finance disclosure, and there is no suggestion they were improper. That figure has not been independently verified, and Trump's claim of a Senate record was not supported by any evidence he presented.

'You Look a Little Bit Like a Dead Person'

Then came the admission. 'I wear very little, and I do it myself,' Trump said. 'Because if you don't put a little on, you look a little bit like a dead person, and I don't want to look that way.'

The line drew attention online, given the long-running public interest in the president's own appearance. In December 2025, photographs from the White House Congressional Ball showed Trump with heavy makeup on the back of his hand, AOL reported. The White House has said bruising seen on his hands is caused by frequent handshaking.

The remark attracted international coverage. Italy's Adnkronos news agency led its report with the president's remark about not wanting to look like a dead person.

One pro-Trump account on X described it as a 'hilarious jab' and highlighted that the president 'joked that he barely wears any himself', in a post featuring the clip.

Trump reserved warmer words for Republican gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson, whom he called a 'very handsome, distinguished, beautiful-looking guy.' Jackson, who once pledged to be Trump's 'favorite governor,' used his brief time on stage to thank the president for his work on behalf of foster children, the AP reported.

Protesters, 2020 Claims and a Tight Race

The speech was interrupted by protesters chanting 'ICE out', who were escorted from the venue. Accounts differ on how many there were. Trump alleged, without presenting evidence, that they had been paid £190 ($250) each, and the AP reported that he suggested Ossoff had paid them.

He also repeated his false claims about Georgia's 2020 presidential election and falsely called Ossoff's January 2021 runoff win over Republican David Perdue rigged, the Associated Press reported.

Collins, a trucking company owner who has represented Georgia's 10th congressional district since 2023, has echoed doubts about the 2020 result and did not retract them during a debate with Ossoff.

Georgia remains a sore point for Trump: in January 2021 he was recorded asking Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to 'find' 11,780 votes, the margin by which he lost the state to Joe Biden.

Ossoff responded with a jab of his own. 'I'm surprised Georgia Republicans want the president here,' he said, arguing that Trump and Collins had backed policies that drove up the cost of groceries, fuel and healthcare, CBS News Atlanta reported.

Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Democratic nominee for governor, also said she welcomed the visit as a reminder to voters of rising costs.

Governor Brian Kemp did not attend, citing a family obligation. Trump won the surrounding congressional district, formerly represented by Marjorie Taylor Greene, by about 37 points in 2024, but Republican Clay Fuller won the April special election to replace her by about 12 points, the AP reported.

Georgia votes on 3 November, with the Ossoff-Collins contest among a handful of races likely to decide control of the Senate.